Privacy for the RRM Research Library Lookup extension
Last updated: October 24, 2026
The extension needs one piece of information to do its job: which paper you're reading. Here's exactly what happens to it.
What leaves your browser
One lookup request to rrmacademy.org, over HTTPS. It carries only the paper's DOI, its PMID, or up to 300 characters of title text. When you use the right-click lookup, it carries the text you selected.
The extension sends a lookup in two cases only. You're on one of the supported sites listed on the extension page, or you click the icon or the right-click menu yourself.
Links in the card, like Read on RRM Academy, open rrmacademy.org in a new tab. Those links carry a tag that marks the visit as coming from the extension.
What the server keeps
One log row per lookup: the identifier or title text, whether the library had the paper, and the time. The row holds no IP address, no user agent (your browser's details) and no referring page.
Your IP address reaches the server the way it reaches any website. The server uses it to cap lookups at 60 a minute and doesn't write it to the log.
What your browser keeps
The extension keeps its last result in the browser's own extension storage. It sets no cookies and stores no identifiers.
What we never collect
No account and no sign-in. No analytics. No browsing history. No page content: the extension reads a paper's DOI or PMID from the page's standard citation tags and nothing else.
Permissions and why
- activeTab: to check the page you're on when you click the icon.
- scripting: to read the citation tags on that page when you ask.
- sidePanel: to show the card in the side panel.
- contextMenus: to add Look up in RRM Library to the right-click menu.
- storage: to remember the last result.
- Access to the supported sites: to light the badge on a paper page without a click.
- Access to rrmacademy.org: to send the lookup.
No remote code
Everything the extension runs ships inside it, fonts included. The server sends back data only: the synopsis, grade, citation and related papers. It never sends code or page markup.
Removing it
In Chrome, open chrome://extensions, find RRM Research Library Lookup and choose Remove. In Edge, open edge://extensions, find it and choose Remove.
Questions
Write to gdpr@rrmacademy.org.